Every spring, freshmen have anguished over housing options
for their sophomore year. Most want to
find a place off campus, but they have a bittersweet feeling: even though they will still be students here, they will have loosened their bonds
with the campus. I don’t know why there
has always been such a stampede to move off campus, and I think SMU has done
the right thing in putting the brakes on it. In fact, I think it’s the best thing that’s
happened here since the Death Penalty.
In recent years, SMU has been trying to "change the culture" of its student body. Although we are in the top tier of national universities, we have struggled with substance abuse and sexual misconduct. Dealing with this problem through more police and penalties exacerbates tensions between students and administration. A better way is to change the culture by changing the people who call this place home, twenty-four hours a day. Compared to many campuses, SMU has been a virtual youth ghetto, with only 32% of its students living on campus, according to the US News and World Report guide to colleges. The remaining 68% who commute are upper class men and women. We need to bring them home.
Having more upper-class students stay on campus longer will contribute to our campus civility. As Donna Shalala, former President of University of Miami, told the NewYork Times, “We’re in the business of helping students mature. Campus life and campus housing are a huge part of that. We think about how to create the college experience, and that’s easier when more students, including upperclassmen, live on campus.” With more modeling of mature social behavior by older students and faculty mentors, the police will have less reason to be in the dorms. Having even a few SMU faculty families living in the dorms will help bridge the populations of students and faculty and avert some of the incidents that have marred our school’s image in the past.
In recent years, SMU has been trying to "change the culture" of its student body. Although we are in the top tier of national universities, we have struggled with substance abuse and sexual misconduct. Dealing with this problem through more police and penalties exacerbates tensions between students and administration. A better way is to change the culture by changing the people who call this place home, twenty-four hours a day. Compared to many campuses, SMU has been a virtual youth ghetto, with only 32% of its students living on campus, according to the US News and World Report guide to colleges. The remaining 68% who commute are upper class men and women. We need to bring them home.
Having more upper-class students stay on campus longer will contribute to our campus civility. As Donna Shalala, former President of University of Miami, told the NewYork Times, “We’re in the business of helping students mature. Campus life and campus housing are a huge part of that. We think about how to create the college experience, and that’s easier when more students, including upperclassmen, live on campus.” With more modeling of mature social behavior by older students and faculty mentors, the police will have less reason to be in the dorms. Having even a few SMU faculty families living in the dorms will help bridge the populations of students and faculty and avert some of the incidents that have marred our school’s image in the past.
Living on campus is a luxury that many older students with jobs and kids would envy. It's a once-in-a-lifetime social and intellectual experience. The class of 2018 should be glad that they have another year before they have to make the choice between leaving and staying.
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